The present invention relates to an axial type electronic component inserting method and apparatus for automatically inserting lead wires of an axial type electronic component into specified holes of a board.
As shown in FIG. 11A, axial type electronic components are assembled with their pairs of lead wires 2a and 2b extending from electronic component bodies 1a arranged at regular intervals of d1 as taped at both ends of the lead wires 2a and 2b by tapes 3a and 3b. It is known that such an assembly of axial type electronic components 1 taped at regular intervals as described above is subjected to an inserting process by an apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1-305600 and so forth.
A component supplier 4 as shown in FIG. 12 retains such an assembly of axial type electronic components 1, and it is provided with cutters 5a and 5b for cutting the tapes 3a and 3b that are taping the lead wires 2a and 2b of the axial type electronic components 1.
Taped end portions including the lead wires of the assembly of the axial type electronic components 1 retained by the component supplier 4 are grasped and pulled by chuck pieces 6 of a component carrier 7, and the tapes 3a and 3b are cut by the cutters 5a and 5b of the component supplier 4, so that one axial type electronic component 1 is taken out.
The axial type electronic component 1 that has been taken out is grasped by the chuck pieces 6 by their end portions, and then carried by the component carrier 7 to an inserting position.
A component inserter 11 as shown in FIG. 13 receives the axial type electronic component 1 from the component carrier 7 in the inserting position, cuts both the ends of the lead wires 2a and 2b including the lead taping portions of the axial type electronic component 1, bends the extending lead wires 2a and 2b at both the ends to a desired width, and inserts the extreme end portions of the lead wires into specified holes of a board.
In the prior art shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, component inserting processes have been successively performed by reciprocating one component carrier 7 between the component supplier 4 that retains the axial type electronic components 1 and the component inserter 11 that inserts each axial type electronic component 1.
Furthermore, according to the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1-305600, its component carrier is constructed so that it can mount another chuck piece for grasping even a radial type electronic component in addition to the axial type electronic component.
According to the above-mentioned conventional construction, it has been very difficult to reduce the insertion cycle because the axial type electronic component supplying and inserting operations are executed alternately one after another. In other words, since the axial type electronic components are fetched or taken out one by one, there is a process in which the component carrier returns as unloaded. This has occupied a great part of the component insertion cycle time, and has been problematic lately when mass production is required in a short time.
Furthermore, in the case of a component grasping device for grasping even a radial type electronic component in addition to the axial type electronic component as disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1-305600, there is the issue that the device cannot manage axial type electronic components having different tape intervals (taping intervals) (e.g., a tape interval of 26 mm and a tape interval of 52 mm as indicated by d2 in FIG. 11A).
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an axial type electronic component inserting method and apparatus capable of improving an axial type electronic component inserting efficiency and managing axial type electronic components having different tape interval specifications.
In accomplishing these and other aspects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an axial type electronic component inserting method for inserting into specified holes of a board a pair of lead wires of each of axial type electronic components while a plurality of chucks grasping each of the axial type electronic components are intermittently moved to a component supplying position and a component transferring position, respectively, the pair of lead wires extending from a main body of each the electronic components belonging to an assembly of electronic components which are connected by a tape as arranged at regular intervals, each of the chucks comprising protruding grasping pieces having first grasping grooves and second grasping grooves, the first grasping grooves grasping, with their inner surfaces, end portions of each of the first kind of the axial type electronic components whose taped portions are of a larger tape interval, the second grasping grooves grasping, with their inner surfaces, end portions of each of the second kind of the axial type electronic components whose taped portions are of a smaller tape interval than the larger tape interval, a depth of each of the first grasping grooves being slightly smaller than a depth of each of the second grasping grooves.
The method comprises:
a first process for
taking out one of the axial type electronic components from a component supplying device for retaining the assembly of axial type electronic components connected by the tape while one of the chucks grasps end portions of the assembly at the component supplying position while preventing the second grasping grooves from contacting the lead wires of each of the first kind of the axial type electronic components grasped by the first grasping grooves when each of the first kind of the axial type electronic components are grasped by the chuck; and
a component delivering process for
moving to a component inserting device the chuck which has already grasped the axial type electronic component through the first process, and
delivering the axial type electronic component to the component inserting device from
the chuck,
wherein the first process and the component delivering process are simultaneously executed.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting method as defined in the first aspect, wherein the first process includes, before the component taking-out step, a step of stopping one of the chucks at the component supplying position and a step of grasping by the stopped chuck the end portions of the assembly of axial type electronic components in the component supplying device for retaining the assembly of axial type electronic components connected by the tape, and also includes, after the taking-out step, a step of cutting the tape which connects the assembly of axial type electronic components so as to separate each axial type electronic component.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting method as defined in the second aspect, wherein the component delivering process includes:
a second process for
moving to the component transferring position the chuck which has already grasped the axial type electronic component in the first process, and
delivering the grasped axial type electronic component to a component transferring device; and
a third process for:
delivering the axial type electronic component to the component inserting device from the component transferring device which has already grasped the axial type electronic component through the second process.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting method as defined in the third aspect, further comprising:
a fourth process for:
inserting both ends of the lead wires or the component which has already been received by the component inserting device into the specified holes of the board, and
bending the lead wires underneath the board to fix the lead wires to the board,
wherein the third process is completed by a time when the chuck located in the component transferring position is put into a state in which the chuck becomes capable of delivering the axial type electronic component to the component transferring device in the second process of a subsequent component inserting cycle, and
the fourth process is completed by a time when the component transferring device is put into a state in which the component transferring device becomes capable of delivering the axial type electronic component to the component inserting device in the third process of the subsequent component inserting cycle.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting method as defined in the fourth aspect, further comprising:
a fifth process for:
intermittently moving the chucks to the component supplying position and the component transferring position, respectively, by a carrying device; and
a sixth process for:
stopping the chucks at the component supplying position and the component transferring position by the carrying device,
wherein the fifth process and the sixth process are executed alternately, and
the first process is executed in the sixth process concurrently with execution of the second process.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting method as defined in the third aspect, wherein in the third process, the component transferring device centers the axial type electronic component by adjusting the main body of the axial type electronic component from both sides of the main body while recesses formed on facing portions of centering pieces come in contact with both sides of the body of the electronic component.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting method as defined in the fourth aspect, wherein in the third process, the component transferring device centers the axial type electronic component by adjusting the main body of the axial type electronic component from both sides of the main body while recesses formed on facing portions of centering pieces come in contact with both sides of the body of the electronic component.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting method as defined in the fifth aspect, wherein in the third process, the component transferring device centers the axial type electronic component by adjusting the main body of the axial type electronic component from both sides of the main body while recesses formed on facing portions of centering pieces come in contact with both sides of the body of the electronic component.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an axial type electronic component inserting apparatus for inserting into specified holes of aboard a pair of lead wires of each of axial type electronic components, the pair of lead wires extending from the main body of each of the electronic components belonging to an assembly of electronic components which are connected by a tape as arranged at regular intervals, each of taped portions of a first kind of the axial type electronic components having a larger tape interval and each of taped portions of a second kind of the axial type electronic components having a smaller tape interval than the larger tape interval. the apparatus comprising:
chucks constructed so that each of the chucks can move forward and backward while grasping end portions of one of the first and second kinds of the axial type electronic components, each of the chucks comprising protruding grasping pieces having first grasping grooves and second grasping grooves, the first grasping grooves grasping, with their inner surfaces, end portions of each of the first kind of the axial type electronic components, the second grasping grooves grasping, with their inner surfaces, end portions of each of the second kind of the axial type electronic components, a depth of each of the first grasping grooves being slightly smaller than a depth of each of the second grasping grooves so as to prevent the second grasping grooves from contacting the lead wires of each of the first kind of the axial type electronic components grasped by the first grasping grooves;
a component carrying device which is provided with the chucks arranged at regular intervals in a circular form and each of which operates intermittently so that each chuck stops at least in a component supplying position and a component transferring position;
a component supplying device which is provided with a cutter for cutting the tape connecting the assembly of axial type electronic components and operates to supply each axial type electronic component to each chuck located in the component supplying position; and
a component transferring and inserting device which receives the axial type electronic component from each chuck located in the component transferring position, inserts both the ends of the lead wires into the specified holes of the board, and bends the lead wires underneath the board so as to fix the axial type electronic component to the board.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting apparatus as defined in the ninth aspect, wherein the component transferring and inserting device comprises:
a component transferring device which receives each axial type electronic component from each chuck located in the component transferring position and transfers the axial type electronic component to a component inserting position; and
a component inserting device which receives the axial type electronic component from the component transferring device in the component inserting position, inserts both the ends of the lead wires into the specified holes of the board, and bends the lead wires underneath the board so as to fix the axial type electronic component to the board.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting apparatus as defined in the tenth aspect, wherein each of the chucks has a plurality of protruding grasping pieces corresponding to different tape intervals for concurrently grasping the tapes and lead wires of the axial type electronic component having different tape intervals, and
the component transferring device is provided with retaining pieces corresponding to the protruding grasping pieces of the component grasping device.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting apparatus as defined in the tenth aspect, wherein the component transferring device is provided with centering pieces for centering the axial type electronic component by adjusting the main body of each set axial type electronic component from both sides of the main body while recesses formed on facing portions of centering pieces come in contact with both sides of the body of the electronic component.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting apparatus as defined in the eleventh aspect, wherein the component transferring device is provided with centering pieces for centering the axial type electronic component by adjusting the main body of each set axial type electronic component from both sides of the main body while recesses formed on facing portions of centering pieces come in contact with both sides of the body of the electronic component.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the axial type electronic component inserting apparatus as defined in the tenth aspect, wherein the component inserting device cuts both ends of the lead wires, and bends the extending lead wires to a desired width, before inserting both the ends of the lead wires into the specified holes of the board.